Taken

An orphaned world, abandoned by the luck of man, love, and money. Gone. To believe a word that created war and famine over these insidious things ever existed is as far-fetched as I will make it sound. The last day was clear and sunny; I remember that much. I felt a cold chill and looked down to see my ice cream begin to melt, dripping away from my hand onto my red-colored toenails; what a lovely color. I can almost picture it again. I try to before my memory escapes me and leaves me orphaned as well. The laughter of children, the crashing of waves, the ring on my finger. I had it all, had. The president was killed first, of course, an awful cliche. The capital was next, and like a simple bowling game, they were all gone in one blow. Nobody knew who they were, only that they were flesh and blood like us. Humans? Friends? not quite. They took our water and our food and our children, no more laughter. The world is at peace now; we no longer fight over trivial things, no more waiting hours in grocery lines, no more petty fights over parking spaces; everything is equal now. Those few who still believed their old world could be restored were taken away and never seen again. The elderly, too, served their function in our society; you are no longer viable after 60. For as long as the old world lived, reproduction was the goal; that is no longer our objective. Instead, we strive to build peace; that is why he is here. We do not know his name; it is not important; he watches. The days were glorious, bright, and peaceful, no more chaos, no more innocents dying, or so I thought.

Day 2598

"Prudence, did you make sure to mail your letter"?

"Of course I did; mailed it off yesterday at first light."

I smiled at Polly approvingly and continued to prepare breakfast. She was assigned to check on me periodically after an incident I had a few weeks back. She doesn't know I know. I greet her every few days with the same kind gesture, "please, come in for some breakfast" There were many more things to occupy my time with than making a lousy breakfast for her. Before she came to me, I saw her monthly at The Poise; the second Thursday of every month was when we are scheduled to appear before a statue of him and pay our respects for all he has done. When the old world was alive, there were variations of every kind within every individual, not anymore. We are all the same, the women in plain grey blouses that resemble those of medical staff. I think I was a nurse before. My mind joggles, and I am brought back to the present.

"So, what do you think?" I looked at Polly; crap, what did she say?

"Quite lovely," I replied cautiously.

She smiled and nodded her head. It is dangerous to be in your own thoughts; always be alert and present. The men wore a slightly darker shade of grey; we all wore white during the hot summer months. Most men held jobs at the factory, where he produced all our needs; other men worked at farms or in medicine. There were only three specialties in this world; the women had the same, factory, farm, or medicine. If none were suitable to your needs, you could always opt to be thrown. Nobody really knows what it means to be thrown, just that you'll never be seen again.

"Would you like to come with me?" she's still here

"i'd love to; we can go ahead once we've finished our breakfast" we ate the bland oatmeal and went off.

Every house on the block perfectly identical to every other; how long have I been here? Polly's gaze burned into the side of my face; her stare was like that of a lion, watching its prey, waiting for it to accept its fate until it pounced and ate it alive. I turned to look at her, and if it weren't for the blaring sun, I would have never noticed it. The reflection of a shiny object hung from her neck.

"What is that?" I asked, looking straight forward so she would have to guess what I was referring to.

"The daffodils? A kind of flower silly, he must have asked for them to be planted in for the summer" I looked back, I don’t know my flowers.

She avoided my question? Or was she truly this daft. Accessories are not allowed; they were burned in the beginning. She wore something, "should I report it?" I thought to myself, "why on earth would she be wearing such a thing out in public?” All I could really see was the chain. Did it hold something below? What could it be? Better not tell anyone yet.

"We're here; I'll head towards the back and grab some items I need and meet you back at this spot" She ran off.

So this is where she wanted to go; I had stopped paying attention to her ranting after the first few days of visits. They never made sense. We were at the market; I scanned my number and grabbed what I needed, milk, honey, apples. It was a quick trip; I never planned to come here anyway. We walked back home; the necklace was gone. She wasn't daft.

"Well, today was lovely prudence; Steve is scheduled to be back any minute now. I should probably get going now" I smiled and thanked her for the company.

Steve was a good man, like the rest. Mine was taken several months ago; he upset a guard and never returned home. Tragic. 5:00 I begin dinner. Vegetables, chop, chicken, cut. Fry, turn, toss, plate. Same every other week, meals were rotated to not bore our stomachs. 7:00 pm, time to sleep. Bright and early for The Poise.

Day 2599

Time to go, I ate breakfast already; today was my favorite day. Not because of the hours we spend kneeling in front of a statue or because of the sun's radiance burning into our skin. Maybe we'll get skin cancer. Is that a thing anymore? I loved these Thursdays for the clothes we wore; I took off my grey scrubs and wrapped my body in a light fabric ideal for the weather; I covered my stomach and chest and threw the rest over my shoulder. The pants were the same, but that didn't bother me. I began to make my way to The Poise, a strange building surrounded by lovely fountains of clear blue water; how exciting. The water we receive weekly is filtered waste from the factory sewers; the world is a better place. I entered The Poise and there in the middle of an open room was he, a statue made of marble, step forward kiss the feet, step back, kneel, head down and pray, "200 bottles of milk on the wall 200 bottles of milk…" I rebel in my on ways, they cannot take my thoughts away, Ive forgotten most of my life from before but they cannot take my thoughts. The heat would be the end of me, it'd get to me before he did. I turned my head to the side; there was Polly. Ah, she wore it again; the chain dazzled me. I need to see it. It clung to her skin from the sweat the heat had produced. 150 bottles. She must want me to see it; that is why she wore it today; she is luring me into her trap. I am not a mouse; I must see it. 120 bottles. The bathroom has a blind spot; that is where the incident that had Polly assigned to me happened, the blind spot I discovered after the man like Steve was assigned to me was taken. What happened is not important now; I must see it. 60 bottles left. Sweat poured from my forehead to my lips; I will wait for her in a restroom stall and surprise her; she was not the lion anymore. I will pounce at my gazelle; I MUST SEE IT. 20 bottles. It would be in her best interest to not report me; she would be thrown in the blink of an eye if it were found. No more bottles; I stood up, kissed the feet, and walked to where I would play the waiting game. 10, 15, 20 minutes, the door opened, "I will meet you around the corner once I am done," she yelled to Steve as the door shut closed, NOW. I slammed the door open and pushed her to the corner of the room.

"Prudence?! What on earth are you doing, guards! GUARDS!" A quick jab in the stomach shut her up.

"I know you're hiding something, Polly, show it to me!" I love playing with my prey.

"What? Are you out of your mind? What nonsense are you talking about!"

I reached into her fabric and produced what she had been hiding. What a beautiful piece, the kind found only in the old world, a heart-shaped locket whose brilliance is shown from the gold liquid it was decorated with, in the middle sat what must be a jewel whose name I cannot remember, but it had hundreds of mirroring eyes.

"WW-what, how did you.." I looked up from the locket to her terrified face.

"I love the face you're making, Polly... Are you scared? What are you hiding in here hm?"

I opened the locket with the tip of my thumb while I looked at her petrified face. I looked down. Children. My head pounded as the faint voices of cheerfulness and laughter echoed in my head. Polly saw through my moment of weakness and ran. With all her might, she ran. Those were probably her children in the old world. Typical. Mothers were taken with their children if they did not cooperate when they were taken. She must have let her children go easy. She shouldn't have run. I gathered my belongings from the floor and proceeded to walk out of the room. I reached my house and stepped inside. Dinner again. A cold shower followed; Polly will be here tomorrow as usual. I did not like that, she’ll come and pretend nothing happened, she might be getting rid of the locket right now. Annoying. I reached for the phone... Bedtime.

Entry day 2600

Today is Friday, no knock on the door. No more bland oatmeal; she shouldn't have run. But, I got to see it. It did not matter anymore; he has blessed us with another cheerful day. I continue to live in peace.